Apparatus and method for providing haptic feedback through wearable device

ABSTRACT

An electronic device includes a communication circuit to communicate with at least one wearable device, and at least one processor electrically connected with the communication circuit. The at least one processor is configured to obtain position information on a position on which the at least one wearable device is placed on a user&#39;s body, and to transmit a control signal to the at least one wearable device through the communication circuit such that, when an output of a haptic pattern specified based on a function is requested, the at least one wearable device outputs a haptic feedback corresponding to the position information and the specified haptic pattern.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0154142, filed on Nov. 17,2017, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure generally relates to a technology of providinghaptic feedback.

2. Description of Related Art

Recently, in addition to providing visual and audio content, electronicdevices have been made with haptic effects for providing tactilefeedback to the user. In particular, the increasing popularity ofvirtual reality (VR) content has necessitated haptic effects of variouspatterns so as to provide various tactile sensations to the user.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determinationhas been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

Herein, in one embodiment, is disclosed an electronic device that mayprovide various haptic feedback patterns to various body parts of theuser. The provided haptic patterns, which may vary in vibrationfrequency, vibration amplitude, time period of the vibration, etc., maybe preset in association with content reproduced by the electronicdevice.

Wearable devices may be placed on various positions on the body of theuser. For example, the wearable devices may be placed on variouspositions such as the wrist, the upper or lower arm, the shoulder, theneck, the waist, the chest, the head, the ankle, the sole of foot, theupper or lower portion of a leg, etc. The wearable devices placed onvarious positions of the body may include, for example, a smart watch,smart glasses, a wrist band, a piece of smart clothing, a device fittedin a shoe, or the like.

Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide an apparatus and a method for providing properhaptic feedback to specific body parts of the user using wearabledevices.

In addition, an aspect of the present disclosure is to provide anapparatus and a method for providing a specific haptic feedbackdepending on a vibration characteristic of a wearable device to a bodypart of the user.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, an electronicdevice may include a communication circuit to communicate with at leastone wearable device, and at least one processor electrically connectedwith the communication circuit. The at least one processor may beconfigured to obtain position information on a position on which the atleast one wearable device is placed on a user's body, and to transmit acontrol signal to the at least one wearable device through thecommunication circuit such that, when an output of a haptic patternspecified based on a function is requested, the at least one wearabledevice outputs a haptic feedback corresponding to the positioninformation and the specified haptic pattern.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a methodperformed by an electronic device may include identifying at least onewearable device connected with the electronic device, obtaining positioninformation on a position on which the at least one wearable device isplaced on a user's body, and transmitting a control signal to the atleast one wearable device such that, when an output of a haptic patternspecified based on a function is requested, the at least one wearabledevice outputs a haptic feedback corresponding to the positioninformation and the specified haptic pattern.

As described above, according to embodiments of the present disclosure,the electronic device may output various haptic feedback depending onpositions on which the wearable devices are placed, thereby outputtinghaptic feedback optimized for each body part of the user.

In addition, the electronic device outputs haptic feedback optimizedbased on vibration characteristic of each wearable device and theposition where each wearable device is placed, thereby improving tactilefeedback to the user.

In addition, a variety of other properties may be understood directly orindirectly through the present disclosure.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may belearned by practice of the presented embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device and awearable device, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B illustrate an operating environment of theelectronic device, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3A is a flowchart illustrating a haptic operating method for anelectronic device depending on positions of the wearable devices,according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3B is a flowchart illustrating a haptic operating method for anelectronic device depending on vibration characteristics of the wearabledevices, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for obtaining positioninformation of a wearable device, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating an interface to obtain motion informationof the wearable device, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an interface to obtain positioninformation of the wearable device, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating an interface to manage the wearabledevice, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a haptic operating method dependingon the number of wearable devices, according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an electronic device in a networkenvironment according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure may bedescribed with reference to accompanying drawings. Accordingly, those ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that modification, equivalent,and/or alternative on the various embodiments described herein can bevariously made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure. With regard to description of drawings, similarcomponents may be marked by similar reference numerals.

In the present disclosure, the expressions “have,” “may have,”“include,” “comprise,” “may include,” and “may comprise” used hereinindicate existence of corresponding features (e.g., components such asnumeric values, functions, operations, or parts) but do not excludepresence of additional features.

In the present disclosure, the expressions “A or B,” “at least one of Aor/and B,” or “one or more of A or/and B,” and the like may include anyand all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Forexample, the term “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” or “at least oneof A or B” may refer to all of the case (1) where at least one A isincluded, the case (2) where at least one B is included, or the case (3)where both of at least one A and at least one B are included.

The terms, such as “first,” “second,” and the like used in the presentdisclosure may be used to refer to various components regardless of theorder and/or the priority and to distinguish the relevant componentsfrom other components, but do not limit the components. For example, “afirst user device” and “a second user device” indicate different userdevices regardless of the order or priority. For example, withoutdeparting the scope of the present disclosure, a first component may bereferred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component maybe referred to as a first component.

It will be understood that when a component (e.g., a first component) isreferred to as being “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with/to”or “connected to” another component (e.g., a second component), it maybe directly coupled with/to or connected to the other component or anintervening component (e.g., a third component) may be present. Incontrast, when a component (e.g., a first component) is referred to asbeing “directly coupled with/to” or “directly connected to” anothercomponent (e.g., a second component), it should be understood that thereare no intervening component (e.g., a third component).

According to the situation, the expression “configured to” used in thepresent disclosure may be used as, for example, the expression “suitablefor,” “having the capacity to,” “designed to,” “adapted to,” “made to,”or “capable of” The term “configured to” must not mean only“specifically designed to” in hardware. Instead, the expression “adevice configured to” may mean that the device is “capable of” operatingtogether with another device or other parts. For example, a “processorconfigured to (or set to) perform A, B, and C” may mean a dedicatedprocessor (e.g., an embedded processor) for performing a correspondingoperation or a generic-purpose processor (e.g., a central processingunit (CPU) or an application processor) which performs correspondingoperations by executing one or more software programs which are storedin a memory device.

Terms used in the present disclosure are used to describe specifiedembodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the presentdisclosure. The terms of a singular form may include plural forms unlessotherwise specified. All the terms used herein, which include technicalor scientific terms, may have the same meaning that is generallyunderstood by a person skilled in the art. It will be further understoodthat terms, which are defined in a dictionary and commonly used, shouldalso be interpreted as is customary in the relevant related art and notin an idealized or overly formal unless expressly so defined in variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In some cases, even if terms areterms which are defined in the present disclosure, they may not beinterpreted to exclude embodiments of the present disclosure.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure may include at least one of, for example, smartphones, tabletpersonal computers (PCs), mobile phones, video telephones, electronicbook readers, desktop PCs, laptop PCs, netbook computers, workstations,servers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable multimedia players(PMPs), Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG-1 or MPEG-2) Audio Layer 3(MP3) players, mobile medical devices, cameras, or wearable devices.According to various embodiments, the wearable device may include atleast one of an accessory type (e.g., watches, rings, bracelets,anklets, necklaces, glasses, contact lens, or head-mounted-devices(HMDs)), a fabric or garment-integrated type (e.g., an electronicapparel), a body-attached type (e.g., a skin pad or tattoos), or abio-implantable type (e.g., an implantable circuit).

According to various embodiments, the electronic device may be a homeappliance. The home appliances may include at least one of, for example,televisions (TVs), digital versatile disc (DVD) players, audios,refrigerators, air conditioners, cleaners, ovens, microwave ovens,washing machines, air cleaners, set-top boxes, home automation controlpanels, security control panels, TV boxes (e.g., Samsung HomeSync™,Apple TV™, or Google TV™), game consoles (e.g., Xbox™ or PlayStation™),electronic dictionaries, electronic keys, camcorders, electronic pictureframes, and the like.

According to another embodiment, an electronic device may include atleast one of various medical devices (e.g., various portable medicalmeasurement devices (e.g., a blood glucose monitoring device, aheartbeat measuring device, a blood pressure measuring device, a bodytemperature measuring device, and the like), a magnetic resonanceangiography (MRA), a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a computedtomography (CT), scanners, and ultrasonic devices), navigation devices,Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), event data recorders (EDRs),flight data recorders (FDRs), vehicle infotainment devices, electronicequipment for vessels (e.g., navigation systems and gyrocompasses),avionics, security devices, head units for vehicles, industrial or homerobots, automated teller machines (ATMs), points of sales (POSs) ofstores, or internet of things (e.g., light bulbs, various sensors,electric or gas meters, sprinkler devices, fire alarms, thermostats,street lamps, toasters, exercise equipment, hot water tanks, heaters,boilers, and the like).

According to an embodiment, the electronic device may include at leastone of parts of furniture or buildings/structures, electronic boards,electronic signature receiving devices, projectors, or various measuringinstruments (e.g., water meters, electricity meters, gas meters, or wavemeters, and the like). According to various embodiments, the electronicdevice may be one of the above-described devices or a combinationthereof. An electronic device according to an embodiment may be aflexible electronic device. Furthermore, an electronic device accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure may not be limited to theabove-described electronic devices and may include other electronicdevices and new electronic devices according to the development oftechnologies.

Hereinafter, electronic devices according to various embodiments will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the presentdisclosure, the term “user” may refer to a person who uses an electronicdevice or may refer to a device (e.g., an artificial intelligenceelectronic device) that uses the electronic device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device and awearable device, according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, according to an embodiment, an electronic device100 may include at least one processor 110 and a communication circuit120 electrically connected with the at least one processor 110. Theprocessor 110 may include a microprocessor or any suitable type ofprocessing circuitry, such as one or more general-purpose processors(e.g., ARM-based processors), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), aProgrammable Logic Device (PLD), an Application-Specific IntegratedCircuit (ASIC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a GraphicalProcessing Unit (GPU), a video card controller, etc. In addition, itwould be recognized that when a general purpose computer accesses codefor implementing the processing shown herein, the execution of the codetransforms the general purpose computer into a special purpose computerfor executing the processing shown herein. Certain of the functions andsteps provided in the Figures may be implemented in hardware, softwareor a combination of both and may be performed in whole or in part withinthe programmed instructions of a computer. No claim element herein is tobe construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112(f), unless theelement is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” In addition,an artisan understands and appreciates that a “processor” or“microprocessor” may be hardware in the claimed disclosure. Under thebroadest reasonable interpretation, the appended claims are statutorysubject matter in compliance with 35 U.S.C. § 101.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may be referred toas a smart phone, a table personal computer (PC), a PC computer, or thelike. Referring to FIG. 1, although the electronic device 100 isexemplified as a smartphone herein, the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. For example, in another embodiment, the electronicdevice 100 may be a wearable device. The at least one processor 110 mayinclude an application processor (AP), a central processing unit (CPU),a communication processor (CP), or the like.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may be coupled toa wearable device 200, thereby directly controlling the wearable device200.

According to an embodiment, the communication circuit 120 may beconfigured to communicate with at least one wearable device 200. Theelectronic device 100 may form a communication channel with the wearabledevice 200 through the communication circuit 120 to be connected withthe wearable device 200 either via a wire or wirelessly. The electronicdevice 100 may transmit control signals, data, or the like to thewearable device 200 through the communication circuit 120.

According to an embodiment, the wearable device 200 may include aprocessor 210, a communication circuit 220, and an actuator 240.Additionally or alternatively, the wearable device 200 may furtherinclude a display 230 to provide, for example, visual user interfacesrelated to haptic feedback. The processor 210 of the wearable device 200may communicate with the electronic device 100 through the communicationcircuit 220. The processor 210 may also drive the actuator 240, therebyoutputting haptic feedback having a specific pattern.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may generate acontrol signal for controlling the wearable device 200 based on theposition where the wearable device 200 is placed, and/or informationregarding the actuator 240, such as vibration characteristic of theactuator 240, whether the actuator 240 is a linear resonance actuator(LRA), an eccentric rotating mass (ERM) vibration motor, a DC motor,etc. The control signal may then be transmitted to the wearable device200 so that the wearable device 200 outputs haptic feedback having aspecific haptic pattern. The wearable device 200 may then output thehaptic feedback having the specific haptic pattern in response toreceiving the control signal.

In another example, the electronic device 100 may determine a hapticpattern corresponding to content reproduced or executed and may changethe determined haptic pattern into the form (e.g., by changing at leastone of amplitude and frequency of the haptic pattern) corresponding toat least one of the position of the wearable device 200 on the user'sbody and the vibration characteristic of the wearable device 200, suchas the type and size of the actuator 240. The electronic device 100 maytransmit a control signal corresponding to the changed haptic pattern tothe wearable device 200 and the wearable device 200 may output hapticfeedback in response to the control signal.

According to an embodiment, the wearable device 200 may operate as ahaptic feedback device for the electronic device 100. In this case, thewearable device 200 may disable other operations or functions, forexample phone call function, alarm function, biometric sensor signalcollecting function, or the like.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may furtherinclude a display 130 and a memory 140. For example, the electronicdevice 100 may provide several interfaces, which are to be describedwith reference to FIGS. 5 to 7, through the display 130. The electronicdevice 100 may store, in the memory 140, data required to generate thecontrol signal to be transmitted to the wearable device 200.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an operating environment of the electronicdevice, according to an embodiment.

According to an embodiment, at least one processor 110 may identify atleast one wearable device 200 connected with the electronic device 100.The electronic device 100 may obtain information on the position on theuser's body where the at least one wearable device 200 is placed(wearing position).

For example, the information on the position where the wearable device200 is placed may be referred to as information of a body part of theuser where the wearable device 200 is positioned. Referring to FIG. 2B,the wearable device 200 may be put on the head, the neck, the wrist, thechest, the waist, the arm, the hand, the leg, the foot, etc., of theuser.

According to an embodiment, an output for a specified haptic pattern maybe requested for a particular various function that is executed by theelectronic device 100. For example, the specified haptic pattern maycorrespond to specific content (e.g., images, games, VR content, or thelike) reproduced or executed by the electronic device 100. The specifiedhaptic pattern may include information on a part of the body that willreceive the haptic pattern, intensity of the vibration, period of thevibration, duration of the vibration etc. The haptic pattern may bepreviously associated with the content so as to enrich user experience.

According to an embodiment, if the output of the specified hapticpattern is requested as at least one function is executed, theelectronic device 100 may control the wearable device 200 such that thewearable device 200 outputs haptic feedback corresponding to thespecified haptic pattern. For example, the electronic device 100 maygenerate a control signal corresponding to the specified haptic patternand the position where the wearable device is placed and may transmitthe control signal to the wearable device 200. The wearable device 200may output the haptic feedback corresponding to the control signal.

According to an embodiment, the specified haptic pattern may include aposition list of the positions where the haptic feedback occurs. Forexample, the position list may include a plurality of target positionsfor producing a haptic effect. The electronic device 100 may select thewearable device 200 among various wearable devices based on a particulartarget position in the position list.

According to an embodiment, even if the same haptic pattern isspecified, different haptic feedback may be output depending on wherethe wearable device 200 is located. That is, the specified hapticpattern may be altered depending on the position on which the wearabledevice 200 is placed. For example, the electronic device 100 may obtaina setting value for altering the specified haptic pattern based on thewearing position of the wearable device. Then, the electronic device 100may generate the control signal based on the obtained setting value. Thesetting value may, for example, be previously stored in the electronicdevice 100 or received from an external device (e.g. a server).

Referring to FIG. 2A, by way of example, the electronic device 100 isconnected with a first device 201 placed on a left arm, a second device203 placed on the head, and a third device 205 placed on a right hand.The electronic device 100 may identify the first to third devices 201 to205 when they are connected with the electronic device 100. Theelectronic device 100 may obtain “the left arm” as position informationof the first device 201, “the head” as position information of thesecond device 203, and “the right hand” as position information of thethird device 205.

In one example, as a function (e.g. VR function) of the electronicdevice 100 is executed, output of a haptic pattern having the samevibration intensity may be requested with respect to the first device201 to the third device 205. But the electronic device 100 may controlthe first device 201 to the third device 205 to output different hapticfeedback based on the positions of the wearable devices. For example,the electronic device 100 may cause the second device 203 to outputvibration having the weakest intensity, because it is placed on the headof the user. That is, due to sensitivities in the head region of theuser, to provide tactile sensation of the same intensity as feedback toanother part of the body, haptic feedback provided to the head of theuser may have to be weaker.

If output of the haptic pattern is requested only with respect to thehand and the arm, on the other hand, the electronic device 100 maytransmit control signals only to the first device 201 and the thirddevice 205. Accordingly, a particular tactile effect may be transmittedto only some body parts by the electronic device 100.

FIG. 3A is a flowchart illustrating a haptic operating method for theelectronic device depending on positions of the wearable devices,according to an embodiment. FIG. 3B is a flowchart illustrating a hapticoperating method for the electronic device depending on vibrationcharacteristics of the wearable devices, according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, according to an embodiment, the method forcontrolling the wearable device 200 may include operation 310 tooperation 350. Operation 310 to operation 350 may be performed by theelectronic device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. Each of the operations 310to 350 may be implemented with instructions being able to be performed(or executed) by the processor 110 of the electronic device 100. Theinstructions may be stored, for example, in a computer-recording mediumor the memory 140 of the electronic device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. Inthe following description of operations 310 to 350, reference numeralsof FIG. 1 are used and descriptions duplicative of those of FIG. 1 willbe omitted in order to avoid redundancy.

In operation 310, the electronic device 100 may identify at least onewearable device 200 connected with the electronic device 100. Forexample, the electronic device 100 may search for and identify thewearable device 200 so that the wearable device 200 is connected withthe electronic device 100 for providing haptic output.

In operation 320, the electronic device 100 may obtain information onthe position on which the wearable device 200 is placed. If output for aspecified haptic pattern is requested as a particular function isexecuted in the electronic device 100, in operation 340, the electronicdevice 100 may transmit a control signal to the wearable device 200 suchthat the wearable device 200 outputs haptic feedback corresponding tothe position information and the specified haptic pattern. Thedescriptions of operation 320 and 340 have been described with referenceto FIGS. 2A and 2B.

In operation 330, the electronic device 100 may obtain vibrationcharacteristic information output by the actuator 240 included in thewearable device 200, which is connected with the electronic device 100.In operation 350, the electronic device 100 may transmit a controlsignal to the wearable device 200 such that the wearable device 200outputs haptic feedback corresponding to the vibration characteristicinformation and the specified haptic pattern. For example, the vibrationcharacteristic information may include information on the types ofhaptic pattern that may be outputted by the actuator 240 based onhardware characteristics of the actuator 240.

According to an embodiment, even if the same haptic pattern isspecified, different haptic feedback may be outputted depending on thecharacteristics of the actuator 240. The frequency band or the reactivespeed of the haptic feedback may be different depending on the types ofactuators 240. For example, a linear resonant actuator (LRA) may outputhaptic feedback with shorter periods as compared to a direct current(DC) actuator.

The electronic device 100 may change the specified haptic pattern to ahaptic pattern which is able to be outputted by the actuator 240. Theelectronic device 100 may generate a control signal corresponding to thechanged haptic pattern and may transmit the control signal to thewearable device 200.

For example, the electronic device 100 may generate a control signal byusing change information for changing the specified haptic pattern suchthat the specified haptic pattern is differently output depending on thevibration characteristic of the actuator 240. For example, the changeinformation may be stored in the memory 140 of the electronic device100. In addition, the change information may be received from anexternal device (e.g., a server).

According to an embodiment, operation 320 and operation 330 may besimultaneously performed. That is, the electronic device 100 maysimultaneously process the specified haptic pattern, the position of thewearable device 200, and the vibration characteristic of the wearabledevice 200. The position information and the vibration characteristicinformation of the wearable device 200 may be obtained from the wearabledevice 200. Using the position information and the vibrationcharacteristic information, the electronic device 100 may generatehaptic feedback suitable for the position of the wearable device 200 andsuitable for the actuator 240. The electronic device 100 may transmitthe control signal to the wearable device 200 such that the wearabledevice 200 outputs the haptic feedback corresponding to the positioninformation, the specified haptic pattern, and the vibrationcharacteristic information.

For example, the electronic device 100 may change the specified hapticpattern, based on the position of the wearable device 200 and/or thecharacteristic of the actuator 240. Thus, the electronic device 100 candynamically alter the specified haptic pattern so that proper hapticfeedback can be outputted by the wearable device 200 even if differentdevices with different vibration characteristic are used as the wearabledevice 200.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for obtaining positioninformation of a wearable device, according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, according to an embodiment, the method forobtaining the position information of a wearable device may includeoperation 410 through operation 420. Operation 410 through operation 420may be performed by the electronic device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1.Each of operation 410 and operation 420 may be implemented withinstructions being able to be performed (or executed) by the processor110 of the electronic device 100. Hereinafter, reference numerals ofFIG. 1 may be employed in the description made with reference of FIG. 4.

Operation 410 may correspond to operation 310 of FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B.The duplicative description thereof will be omitted.

In operation 415, the electronic device 100 may obtain informationassociated with the position on the user's body where the wearabledevice 200 is placed. In operation 420, the electronic device 100 maydetermine the position of the wearable device 200 based on the obtainedassociated information, thereby obtaining the position information.

According to an embodiment, the associated information of operation 415may be motion information of the wearable device 200. The electronicdevice 100 may obtain position information based on the motioninformation.

In another example, the electronic device 100 may determine the positionof the wearable device 200 based on data obtained through a sensor(e.g., a gyro sensor) of the wearable device 200. The data may include adirection in which the wearable device 200 moves, or the like.

For example, the movement data corresponding to a body part wearing thewearable device and a wearing direction (leftward or rightward) may bepreviously computed. The electronic device 100 may store the previouslycomputed movement data in the memory 140 or may receive the previouslycomputed movement data from an external device (e.g. a server). Theelectronic device 100 may compare the previously computed movement datawith movement information obtained from the wearable device 200, therebydetermining the position of the wearable device 200.

According to an embodiment, the associated information of operation 415may be user input. The electronic device 100 may obtain the positioninformation based on the input. For example, the electronic device 100may directly receive an input stating that, for example, the wearabledevice 200 is placed on the left arm of the user.

According to an embodiment, the associated information of operation 415may include information on the type of the wearable device 200. Forexample, the information on the type of the wearable device 200 may bereceived from the wearable device 200 and may be stored in the memory140 of the electronic device 100. The electronic device 100 may obtainthe position information based on the type of the wearable device 200.For example, when the wearable device 200 is a head-mount device, theelectronic device 100 may determine that the wearable device 200 ispositioned on the head of the user 50.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may obtain theposition information by using a biometric sensor mounted in the wearabledevice 200 and bio information obtained from the biometric sensor.

For example, the electronic device 100 may determine the wearingposition based on the type of sensor mounted in the wearable device 200.The wearable device 200 including a fingerprint sensor may be determinedas being placed on a finger of the user. The wearable device 200including an iris sensor may be determined as being placed on the faceof the user. The wearable device 200 including a heart rate sensor maybe determined as being put on a wrist of the user.

For example, the electronic device 100 may obtain position informationby using bio information obtained from the mounted sensor. When thefingerprint information is obtained, the wearable device 200 may bedetermined as being put on the finger. When the heart rate informationis obtained, the wearable device 200 may be determined as being put onthe wrist.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may obtain theposition information based on the combination of information related tothe biometric sensor and the movement information.

For example, when the electronic device 100 obtains information on theheart rate of the user, the electronic device 100 may determine thewearable device 200 as being placed on the wrist of the user. Based onmovement data, the electronic device 100 may determine whether thewearable device 200 is placed on the right wrist or the left wrist.Thus, the electronic device 100 may determine the position on which thewearable device 200 is placed by using a combination of biometricinformation and the movement information.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating an interface to obtain motion informationof the wearable device, according to an embodiment.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may output ascreen for inducing movement of the wearable device 200 through thedisplay 130 of the electronic device 100 or the display 230 of thewearable device 200. The electronic device 100 may determine theposition of the wearable device 200 by using movement informationobtained.

Referring to FIG. 5, the electronic device 100 may display the list ofwearable devices 200 connected with the electronic device 100 asillustrated through screen 510. Screen 520 includes one example of guideinformation for inducing the movement of the wearable device 200. Thedetermined position of the wearable device 200 is displayed on a screen530.

Referring to the screen 520, the movement of the wearable device 200 bythe user 50 is induced by a pop-up message “lift up” for the device“Gear S2.” Thus, if a specific wearable device 200 is selected from thelist of the screen 510, the pop-up message may be displayed on thescreen 520 to induce the movement associated with the specific wearabledevice 200.

According to another embodiment, the electronic device 100 may output anaudio signal for inducing the movement of the wearable device 200. Forexample, the electronic device 100 may output, as the audio signal, amessage for inducing the movement, thereby inducing the movement of thewearable device 200 by the user 50. The audio signal may be repeatedlyoutput until sensor signal related to movement is sufficientlycollected. In addition, when the sensor signal is sufficientlycollected, the electronic device 100 may output an audio signal to stopthe user from moving.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may output thelist of a plurality of wearable devices 200 connected with theelectronic device 100 through the display 130 or the display 230 of thewearable device 200. The electronic device 100 may obtain positioninformation of the wearable device 200 selected from the list.

Referring to screen 510, the list of the wearable devices 200 connectedwith the electronic device 100 is displayed. A user input may bereceived in relation to the selection of the wearable device 200. Forexample, the device “Gear S2” may be selected from the list. Theelectronic device 100 may obtain the position information of only the“Gear S2” device. The wearable device 200 to be used as a hapticfeedback device based on functions executed by the electronic device 100may be selected from the plurality of wearable devices 200.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an interface to obtain positioninformation of the wearable device, according to an embodiment.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may output userinterface screens through the display 130 of the electronic device 100or the display 230 of the wearable device 200 to obtain a user input bythe user 50. The electronic device 100 may determine the position of thewearable device 200 based on the user input.

Referring to FIG. 6, a screen 610 displays a picture 640 having theshape of a body. For example, the electronic device 100 may obtain theuser input for the position of the wearable device 200 by using thepicture 640. The electronic device 100 may determine the wearable device200 as being positioned on the body of the user 50 corresponding to aposition 645 selected on the picture 640.

The display 130 of the electronic device 100 or the display 230 of thewearable device 200, which outputs the screen 610, may be a touch screendisplay. In this case, the electronic device 100 may obtain touch inputsto the display 130 or 230 as the selected input.

In another example, the electronic device 100 may obtain the user inputbased on a voice command of the user 50. For example, when the user 50utters “Neck,” the electronic device 100 may determine that acorresponding wearable device 200 is positioned on the neck of the user50.

According to an embodiment, an event may occur to request for the outputof a haptic pattern corresponding to VR content outputted or executed bythe electronic device 100. The electronic device 100 may utilize thewearable device 200 connected with the electronic device 100 as a hapticfeedback receiver to output haptic feedback. For example, the electronicdevice 100 may display an interface to obtain position information ofthe wearable device 200 as illustrated in the screen 610, and may obtainposition information. In addition, the electronic device 100 may obtainvibration characteristic information of the wearable device 200. Theelectronic device 100 may change the haptic pattern to be outputtedbased on the position information and the vibration characteristicinformation and may generate a control signal corresponding to thechanged haptic pattern. The wearable device 200 may output the hapticfeedback having the changed haptic pattern in response to the controlsignal. For example, when the electronic device 100 outputs the VRcontent, the screen 610 may be displayed in 3D on the electronic device100 or on the display of the wearable device 200 connected with theelectronic device 100.

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating an interface to manage the wearabledevice, according to an embodiment.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may output thelist of at least one wearable device 200 connected with the electronicdevice 100 and position information of the wearable device 200 throughthe display 130 of the electronic device 100 or the display 230 of thewearable device 200. For example, a screen for displaying the list ofthe wearable device 200 and the position information of the wearabledevice 200 may be referred as an interface for managing the wearabledevice 200.

For example, the electronic device 100 may output an interface fordisplaying both the list of at least one wearable device 200 connectedwith the electronic device 100 and the wearing position of the wearabledevice 200. A user may recognize the types and the number of wearabledevices 200 to be utilized as haptic feedback receivers through theinterface. Referring to a screen 710, in one example, four wearabledevices 200 are connected with the electronic device 100 and positioninformation of the wearable devices 200 are displayed. The user 50 mayrecognize and manage the connection state of the wearable device 200 andthe detected position information through the screen 710. For example,when a specific wearable device 200 is selected from the screen 710, ascreen for the details of the specific wearable device 200 may bedisplayed, such as the one shown in screen 720. For example, the stateof the connection to the headphone may be set through the screen 720.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a haptic operating method based onthe number of wearable devices, according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8, according to an embodiment, a method forcontrolling a wearable device may include operation 810 to operation864. For example, operation 810 to operation 864 may be performed by theelectronic device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. Each of the operations 810to 864 may be implemented with instructions being able to be performed(or executed) by the processor 110 of the electronic device 100.Hereinafter, reference numerals of FIG. 1 may be employed in thedescription made with reference of FIG. 8.

Operation 810 may correspond to operation 310 of FIGS. 3A and 3B. Theduplicative description thereof will be omitted in the followingdescription.

The electronic device 100 determines whether a plurality of wearabledevices 200 are provided. When one wearable device 200 is provided, theelectronic device 100 may transmit a control signal to the wearabledevice 200 connected with the electronic device 100 in operation 852 andthe wearable device 200 receiving the control signal may output a hapticfeedback corresponding to the control signal in operation 862.

When a plurality of wearable devices 200 are connected with theelectronic device 100, the electronic device 100 may transmit aplurality of control signals through a plurality of communicationchannels formed with the wearable devices 200, in operation 854. Inoperation 864, the wearable devices 200 may each output different hapticfeedbacks corresponding to the different control signals.

In embodiments associated with operation 854 and operation 864, theplurality of wearable devices 200 may include a first device and asecond device, which are different from each other. The communicationcircuit 120 of the electronic device 100 may form a first communicationchannel with the first device, and may form a second communicationchannel with the second device. Thus, the electronic device 100 may formseparate communication channels with the wearable devices 200.

The electronic device 100 may obtain information on a first position, onwhich the first device is placed, and information on a second positionon which the second device is placed.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may generate afirst control signal corresponding to a first haptic feedback that inturn corresponds to a haptic pattern specified based on the firstposition information. The electronic device 100 may generate a secondcontrol signal corresponding to a second haptic feedback that in turncorresponds to a haptic pattern specified based on the second positioninformation. Both the first control signal and the second control signalmay correspond to a particular function (e.g. VR function) currentlyexecuting in the electronic device 100.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may transmit thefirst control signal to the first device through the first communicationchannel, and may transmit the second control signal to the second devicethrough the second communication channel. Alternatively, the electronicdevice 100 may transmit a multiple control signals to all of thewearable devices 200, and each of the wearable devices 200 will extractthe control signal corresponding to it from the multiple controlsignals. Thus, the wearable devices 200 may output different hapticfeedbacks having different patterns.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may further takeinto consideration characteristics of actuators 240 included in theplurality of wearable devices 200. The electronic device 100 may obtainfirst vibration characteristic information output by an actuatorincluded in the first device and second vibration characteristicinformation output by an actuator included in the second device.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may generate afirst control signal corresponding to a first haptic feedback based onthe haptic pattern specified, the first position information, and thefirst vibration characteristic information. The electronic device 100may generate a second control signal corresponding to a second hapticfeedback based on the haptic pattern specified, the second positioninformation, and the second vibration characteristic information. Thefirst control signal may be transmitted to the first device through thefirst communication channel, and the second control signal may betransmitted to the second device through the second communicationchannel.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an electronic device in a networkenvironment according to various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 9, an electronic device 901 may communicate with anelectronic device 902 through a first network 998 (e.g., a short-rangewireless communication) or may communicate with an electronic device 904or a server 908 through a second network 999 (e.g., a long-distancewireless communication) in a network environment 900. According to anembodiment, the electronic device 901 may communicate with theelectronic device 904 through the server 908. According to anembodiment, the electronic device 901 may include a processor 920, amemory 930, an input device 950, a sound output device 955, a displaydevice 960, an audio module 970, a sensor module 976, an interface 977,a haptic module 979, a camera module 980, a power management module 988,a battery 989, a communication module 990, a subscriber identificationmodule 996, and an antenna module 997. According to some embodiments, atleast one (e.g., the display device 960 or the camera module 980) amongcomponents of the electronic device 901 may be omitted or othercomponents may be added to the electronic device 901. According to someembodiments, some components may be integrated and implemented as in thecase of the sensor module 976 (e.g., a fingerprint sensor, an irissensor, or an illuminance sensor) embedded in the display device 960(e.g., a display).

The processor 920 may operate, for example, software (e.g., a program940) to control at least one of other components (e.g., a hardware orsoftware component) of the electronic device 901 connected to theprocessor 920 and may process and compute a variety of data. Theprocessor 920 may load a command set or data, which is received fromother components (e.g., the sensor module 976 or the communicationmodule 1090), into a volatile memory 932, may process the loaded commandor data, and may store result data into a nonvolatile memory 934.According to an embodiment, the processor 920 may include a mainprocessor 921 (e.g., a central processing unit or an applicationprocessor) and an auxiliary processor 923 (e.g., a graphic processingdevice, an image signal processor, a sensor hub processor, or acommunication processor), which operates independently from the mainprocessor 921, additionally or alternatively uses less power than themain processor 921, or is specified to a designated function. In thiscase, the auxiliary processor 923 may operate separately from the mainprocessor 921 or embedded.

In this case, the auxiliary processor 923 may control, for example, atleast some of functions or states associated with at least one component(e.g., the display device 960, the sensor module 976, or thecommunication module 990) among the components of the electronic device901 instead of the main processor 921 while the main processor 921 is inan inactive (e.g., sleep) state or together with the main processor 921while the main processor 921 is in an active (e.g., an applicationexecution) state. According to an embodiment, the auxiliary processor923 (e.g., the image signal processor or the communication processor)may be implemented as a part of another component (e.g., the cameramodule 980 or the communication module 990) that is functionally relatedto the auxiliary processor 923. The memory 930 may store a variety ofdata used by at least one component (e.g., the processor 920 or thesensor module 976) of the electronic device 901, for example, software(e.g., the program 940) and input data or output data with respect tocommands associated with the software. The memory 930 may include thevolatile memory 932 or the nonvolatile memory 934.

The program 940 may be stored in the memory 930 as software and mayinclude, for example, an operating system 942, a middleware 944, or anapplication 946.

The input device 950 may be a device for receiving a command or data,which is used for a component (e.g., the processor 920) of theelectronic device 901, from an outside (e.g., a user) of the electronicdevice 901 and may include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, or akeyboard.

The sound output device 955 may be a device for outputting a soundsignal to the outside of the electronic device 901 and may include, forexample, a speaker used for general purposes, such as multimedia play orrecordings play, and a receiver used only for receiving calls. Accordingto an embodiment, the receiver and the speaker may be either integrallyor separately implemented.

The display device 960 may be a device for visually presentinginformation to the user of the electronic device 901 and may include,for example, a display, a hologram device, or a projector and a controlcircuit for controlling a corresponding device. According to anembodiment, the display device 960 may include a touch circuitry or apressure sensor for measuring an intensity of pressure on the touch.

The audio module 970 may convert a sound and an electrical signal indual directions. According to an embodiment, the audio module 970 mayobtain the sound through the input device 950 or may output the soundthrough an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 902(e.g., a speaker or a headphone)) wired or wirelessly connected to thesound output device 955 or the electronic device 901.

The sensor module 976 may generate an electrical signal or a data valuecorresponding to an operating state (e.g., power or temperature) insideor an environmental state outside the electronic device 901. The sensormodule 976 may include, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, abarometric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, agrip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an infrared sensor, abiometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or anilluminance sensor.

The interface 977 may support a designated protocol wired or wirelesslyconnected to the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device902). According to an embodiment, the interface 977 may include, forexample, an HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface), a USB(universal serial bus) interface, an SD card interface, or an audiointerface.

A connecting terminal 978 may include a connector that physicallyconnects the electronic device 901 to the external electronic device(e.g., the electronic device 902), for example, an HDMI connector, a USBconnector, an SD card connector, or an audio connector (e.g., aheadphone connector).

The haptic module 979 may convert an electrical signal to a mechanicalstimulation (e.g., vibration or movement) or an electrical stimulationperceived by the user through tactile or kinesthetic sensations. Thehaptic module 979 may include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectricelement, or an electric stimulator.

The camera module 980 may shoot a still image or a video image.According to an embodiment, the camera module 980 may include, forexample, at least one lens, an image sensor, an image signal processor,or a flash.

The power management module 988 may be a module for managing powersupplied to the electronic device 901 and may serve as at least a partof a power management integrated circuit (PMIC).

The battery 989 may be a device for supplying power to at least onecomponent of the electronic device 901 and may include, for example, anon-rechargeable (primary) battery, a rechargeable (secondary) battery,or a fuel cell.

The communication module 990 may establish a wired or wirelesscommunication channel between the electronic device 901 and the externalelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 902, the electronicdevice 904, or the server 908) and support communication executionthrough the established communication channel. The communication module990 may include at least one communication processor operatingindependently from the processor 920 (e.g., the application processor)and supporting the wired communication or the wireless communication.According to an embodiment, the communication module 990 may include awireless communication module 992 (e.g., a cellular communicationmodule, a short-range wireless communication module, or a GNSS (globalnavigation satellite system) communication module) or a wiredcommunication module 994 (e.g., an LAN (local area network)communication module or a power line communication module) and maycommunicate with the external electronic device using a correspondingcommunication module among them through the first network 998 (e.g., theshort-range communication network such as a Bluetooth, a WiFi direct, oran IrDA (infrared data association)) or the second network 999 (e.g.,the long-distance wireless communication network such as a cellularnetwork, an internet, or a computer network (e.g., LAN or WAN)). Theabove-mentioned various communication modules 990 may be implementedinto one chip or into separate chips, respectively.

According to an embodiment, the wireless communication module 992 mayidentify and authenticate the electronic device 901 using userinformation stored in the subscriber identification module 996 in thecommunication network.

The antenna module 997 may include one or more antennas to transmit orreceive the signal or power to or from an external source. According toan embodiment, the communication module 990 (e.g., the wirelesscommunication module 992) may transmit or receive the signal to or fromthe external electronic device through the antenna suitable for thecommunication method.

Some components among the components may be connected to each otherthrough a communication method (e.g., a bus, a GPIO (general purposeinput/output), an SPI (serial peripheral interface), or an MIPI (mobileindustry processor interface)) used between peripheral devices toexchange signals (e.g., a command or data) with each other.

According to an embodiment, the command or data may be transmitted orreceived between the electronic device 901 and the external electronicdevice 904 through the server 908 connected to the second network 999.Each of the electronic devices 902 and 904 may be the same or differenttypes as or from the electronic device 901. According to an embodiment,all or some of the operations performed by the electronic device 901 maybe performed by another electronic device or a plurality of externalelectronic devices. When the electronic device 901 performs somefunctions or services automatically or by request, the electronic device901 may request the external electronic device to perform at least someof the functions related to the functions or services, in addition to orinstead of performing the functions or services by itself. The externalelectronic device receiving the request may carry out the requestedfunction or the additional function and transmit the result to theelectronic device 901. The electronic device 901 may provide therequested functions or services based on the received result as is orafter additionally processing the received result. To this end, forexample, a cloud computing, distributed computing, or client-servercomputing technology may be used.

According to one embodiment, an electronic device may include acommunication circuit to communicate with at least one wearable device,and at least one processor electrically connected with the communicationcircuit. The at least one processor may be configured to obtain positioninformation on a position on which the at least one wearable device isplaced on a user's body, and to transmit a control signal to the atleast one wearable device through the communication circuit such that,when an output of a haptic pattern specified based on a function isrequested, the at least one wearable device outputs a haptic feedbackcorresponding to the position information and the specified hapticpattern.

According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may beconfigured to obtain vibration characteristic information of the atleast one wearable device, and to generate the control signal based onthe vibration characteristic information, in addition to the positioninformation and the specified haptic pattern.

According to one embodiment, the electronic device may further include amemory to store information for changing the specified haptic patternbased on the vibration characteristic information. The at least oneprocessor may be configured to generate the control signal by using theinformation for changing the specified haptic pattern.

According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may beconfigured to receive, through the communication circuit, informationfor changing the specified haptic pattern based on the vibrationcharacteristic information, and to generate the control signal by usingthe received information for changing the specified haptic pattern.

According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may beconfigured to obtain the position information based on movementinformation of the at least one wearable device.

According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may beconfigured to output a screen for inducing movement of the at least onewearable device through a display of the electronic device or a displayof the at least one wearable device.

According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may beconfigured to obtain the position information based on a user input.

According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may beconfigured to output a user interface screen for obtaining the userinput through a display of the electronic device or a display of the atleast one wearable device.

According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may beconfigured to obtain the position information based on information on atype of the at least one wearable device.

According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may beconfigured to change the specified haptic pattern based on at least oneof the position information and the vibration characteristicinformation, and the control signal corresponds to the changed hapticpattern such that the at least one wearable device outputs a hapticfeedback corresponding to the changed haptic pattern.

According to one embodiment, wherein the at least one processor may beconfigured to output a list of wearable devices including the at leastone wearable device through a display of the electronic device or adisplay of the at least one wearable device, and to obtain positioninformation of the at least one wearable device when the at least onewearable device is selected from the list.

According to one embodiment, the at least one wearable device mayinclude a first device and a second device. The communication circuitmay be configured to form a first communication channel with the firstdevice, and to form a second communication channel with the seconddevice. The at least one processor may be configured to obtain firstposition information on a first position on which the first device isplaced on the user's body, and second position information on a secondposition on which the second device is placed on the user's body, totransmit a first control signal to the first device through the firstcommunication channel such that the first device outputs a first hapticfeedback corresponding to the obtained first position information of thefirst device and the specified haptic pattern, and to transmit a secondcontrol signal to the second device through the second communicationchannel such that the second device outputs a second haptic feedbackcorresponding to the obtained second position information of the seconddevice and the specified haptic pattern.

According to one embodiment, the at least one processor may beconfigured to obtain first vibration characteristic information of anactuator included in the first device and second vibrationcharacteristic information of an actuator included in the second device.The first control signal may be generated based on the first positioninformation, the specified haptic pattern, and the first vibrationcharacteristic information, and the second control signal may begenerated based on the second position information, the specified hapticpattern, and the second vibration characteristic information.

According to one embodiment, the specified haptic pattern may include aposition list for where the haptic feedback is to occur. The controlsignal may be transmitted to the at least one wearable device when theposition information corresponds to a position in the position list.

According to one embodiment, a method performed by an electronic devicemay include identifying at least one wearable device connected with theelectronic device, obtaining position information on a position on whichthe at least one wearable device is placed on a user's body, andtransmitting a control signal to the at least one wearable device suchthat, when an output of a haptic pattern specified based on a functionis requested, the at least one wearable device outputs a haptic feedbackcorresponding to the position information and the specified hapticpattern.

According to one embodiment, the method may further include obtainingvibration characteristic information of an actuator included in the atleast one wearable device. The control signal may be generated based onthe position, the specified haptic pattern, and the vibrationcharacteristic information.

According to one embodiment, the method may further include, when the atleast one wearable device connected with the electronic device includesa plurality of wearable devices, transmitting the control signal throughcommunication channels formed between the plurality of wearable devicesand the electronic device.

According to one embodiment, the method may further include outputtingan interface for inducing movement of the at least one wearable device.

According to one embodiment, the obtaining of the position informationmay include outputting an interface for displaying a list of wearabledevices including the at least one wearable device, and obtaining theposition information of the at least one wearable device when the atleast one wearable device is selected from the list.

According to one embodiment, the specified haptic pattern may include aposition list for where the haptic feedback is to occur, and the controlsignal may be transmitted to the at least one wearable device when theposition information corresponds to a position in the position list.

The electronic device according to various embodiments disclosed in thepresent disclosure may be various types of devices. The electronicdevice may include, for example, at least one of a portablecommunication device (e.g., a smartphone), a computer device, a portablemultimedia device, a mobile medical appliance, a camera, a wearabledevice, or a home appliance. The electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure should not be limited to theabove-mentioned devices.

It should be understood that various embodiments of the presentdisclosure and terms used in the embodiments do not intend to limittechnologies disclosed in the present disclosure to the particular formsdisclosed herein; rather, the present disclosure should be construed tocover various modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives ofembodiments of the present disclosure. With regard to description ofdrawings, similar components may be assigned with similar referencenumerals. As used herein, singular forms may include plural forms aswell unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the presentdisclosure disclosed herein, the expressions “A or B”, “at least one ofA or/and B”, “A, B, or C” or “one or more of A, B, or/and C”, and thelike used herein may include any and all combinations of one or more ofthe associated listed items. The expressions “a first”, “a second”, “thefirst”, or “the second”, used in herein, may refer to various componentsregardless of the order and/or the importance, but do not limit thecorresponding components. The above expressions are used merely for thepurpose of distinguishing a component from the other components. Itshould be understood that when a component (e.g., a first component) isreferred to as being (operatively or communicatively) “connected,” or“coupled,” to another component (e.g., a second component), it may bedirectly connected or coupled directly to the other component or anyother component (e.g., a third component) may be interposed betweenthem.

The term “module” used herein may represent, for example, a unitincluding one or more combinations of hardware, software and firmware.The term “module” may be interchangeably used with the terms “logic”,“logical block”, “part” and “circuit”. The “module” may be a minimumunit of an integrated part or may be a part thereof. The “module” may bea minimum unit for performing one or more functions or a part thereof.For example, the “module” may include an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC).

Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented bysoftware (e.g., the program 940) including an instruction stored in amachine-readable storage media (e.g., an internal memory 936 or anexternal memory 938) readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). Themachine may be a device that calls the instruction from themachine-readable storage media and operates depending on the calledinstruction and may include the electronic device (e.g., the electronicdevice 901). When the instruction is executed by the processor (e.g.,the processor 920), the processor may perform a function correspondingto the instruction directly or using other components under the controlof the processor. The instruction may include a code made by a compileror a code executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storagemedia may be provided in the form of non-transitory storage media. Here,the term “non-transitory”, as used herein, is a limitation of the mediumitself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on datastorage persistency.

According to an embodiment, the method according to various embodimentsdisclosed in the present disclosure may be provided as a part of acomputer program product. The computer program product may be tradedbetween a seller and a buyer as a product. The computer program productmay be distributed in the form of machine-readable storage medium (e.g.,a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)) or may be distributed onlythrough an application store (e.g., a Play Store™). In the case ofonline distribution, at least a portion of the computer program productmay be temporarily stored or generated in a storage medium such as amemory of a manufacturer's server, an application store's server, or arelay server.

Each component (e.g., the module or the program) according to variousembodiments may include at least one of the above components, and aportion of the above sub-components may be omitted, or additional othersub-components may be further included. Alternatively or additionally,some components (e.g., the module or the program) may be integrated inone component and may perform the same or similar functions performed byeach corresponding components prior to the integration. Operationsperformed by a module, a programming, or other components according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure may be executedsequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or in a heuristic method. Also,at least some operations may be executed in different sequences,omitted, or other operations may be added.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Having described different embodiments of an electronic device that candynamically change the specified haptic pattern to take into account thepositions and/or vibration characteristics of the wearable devicesserving as haptic feedback output devices, it should be apparent tothose skilled in the art that certain advantages of the system have beenachieved to improve the provision of haptic feedback to the user.

Certain of the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure canbe implemented in hardware, firmware or via the execution of software orcomputer code that can be stored in a recording medium such as a CD ROM,a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), a magnetic tape, a RAM, a floppy disk, ahard disk, or a magneto-optical disk or computer code downloaded over anetwork originally stored on a remote recording medium or anon-transitory machine readable medium and to be stored on a localrecording medium, so that the methods described herein can be renderedvia such software that is stored on the recording medium using a generalpurpose computer, or a special processor or in programmable or dedicatedhardware, such as an ASIC or FPGA. As would be understood in the art,the computer, the processor, microprocessor controller or theprogrammable hardware include memory components, e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash,etc. that may store or receive software or computer code that whenaccessed and executed by the computer, processor or hardware implementthe processing methods described herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a communicationcircuit configured to communicate with at least one wearable device; andat least one processor electrically connected with the communicationcircuit, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: obtain,based on information on a type of the at least one wearable device,position information on a position on which the at least one wearabledevice is placed on a user's body; and transmit a control signal to theat least one wearable device through the communication circuit suchthat, when an output of a haptic pattern specified based on a functionis requested, the at least one wearable device outputs a haptic feedbackcorresponding to the position information and the specified hapticpattern.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: obtain vibration characteristicinformation of the at least one wearable device; and generate thecontrol signal based on the vibration characteristic information, inaddition to the position information and the specified haptic pattern.3. The electronic device of claim 2, further comprising: a memoryconfigured to store information for changing the specified hapticpattern based on the vibration characteristic information, wherein theat least one processor is further configured to: generate the controlsignal by using the information for changing the specified hapticpattern.
 4. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: receive, through the communicationcircuit, information for changing the specified haptic pattern based onthe vibration characteristic information, and generate a control signalby using the received information for changing the specified hapticpattern.
 5. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: change the specified haptic patternbased on at least one of the position information and the vibrationcharacteristic information, wherein the control signal corresponds tothe changed haptic pattern such that the at least one wearable deviceoutputs a haptic feedback corresponding to the changed haptic pattern.6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processoris further configured to: obtain the position information further basedon movement information of the at least one wearable device.
 7. Theelectronic device of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to: output a screen for inducing movement of the atleast one wearable device through a display of the electronic device ora display of the at least one wearable device.
 8. The electronic deviceof claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:obtain the position information further based on a user input.
 9. Theelectronic device of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to: output a user interface screen for obtaining theuser input through a display of the electronic device or a display ofthe at least one wearable device.
 10. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: output alist of wearable devices including the at least one wearable devicethrough a display of the electronic device or a display of the at leastone wearable device; and obtain position information of the at least onewearable device when the at least one wearable device is selected fromthe list.
 11. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the specifiedhaptic pattern includes a position list for where the haptic feedback isto occur, and wherein the control signal is transmitted to the at leastone wearable device when the position information corresponds to aposition in the position list.
 12. An electronic device comprising: acommunication circuit configured to communicate with a first device anda second device; and at least one processor electrically connected withthe communication circuit, wherein the communication circuit isconfigured to: form a first communication channel with the first device;and form a second communication channel with the second device, andwherein the at least one processor is configured to: obtain firstposition information on a first position on which the first device isplaced on a user's body, and second position information on a secondposition on which the second device is placed on the user's body,transmit a first control signal to the first device through the firstcommunication channel such that the first device outputs a first hapticfeedback corresponding to the first position information of the firstdevice and a haptic pattern specified based on a function, and transmita second control signal to the second device through the secondcommunication channel such that the second device outputs a secondhaptic feedback corresponding to the second position information of thesecond device and the specified haptic pattern.
 13. The electronicdevice of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to: obtain first vibration characteristic information of anactuator included in the first device and second vibrationcharacteristic information of an actuator included in the second device,wherein the first control signal is generated based on the firstposition information, the specified haptic pattern, and the firstvibration characteristic information, and wherein the second controlsignal is generated based on the second position information, thespecified haptic pattern, and the second vibration characteristicinformation.
 14. A method performed by an electronic device, the methodcomprising: identifying at least one wearable device connected with theelectronic device; obtaining, based on information on a type of the atleast one wearable device, position information on a position on whichthe at least one wearable device is placed on a user's body; andtransmitting a control signal to the at least one wearable device suchthat, when an output of a haptic pattern specified based on a functionis requested, the at least one wearable device outputs a haptic feedbackcorresponding to the position information and the specified hapticpattern.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: obtainingvibration characteristic information of an actuator included in the atleast one wearable device, wherein the control signal is generated basedon the position, the specified haptic pattern, and the vibrationcharacteristic information.
 16. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising: when the at least one wearable device connected with theelectronic device includes a plurality of wearable devices, transmittingthe control signal through communication channels formed between theplurality of wearable devices and the electronic device.
 17. The methodof claim 14, further comprising: outputting an interface for inducingmovement of the at least one wearable device.
 18. The method of claim14, wherein the obtaining of the position information includes:outputting an interface for displaying a list of wearable devicesincluding the at least one wearable device; and obtaining the positioninformation of the at least one wearable device when the at least onewearable device is selected from the list.
 19. The method of claim 14,wherein the specified haptic pattern includes a position list for wherethe haptic feedback is to occur, and wherein the control signal istransmitted to the at least one wearable device when the positioninformation corresponds to a position in the position list.